2. In 1948 Lasswell suggested that media texts had the following functions for individuals
and society:
surveillance
correlation
entertainment
cultural transmission
Researchers Bulmer and Katz expanded this theory and published their own in 1974,
stating that individuals might choose and use a text for the following purposes:
Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine.
Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and other interaction, e.g.)
substituting soap operas for family life
Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behavior and values
from texts
Surveillance - Information which could be useful for living e.g.) weather reports,
financial news, holiday bargains
Uses And Gratifications. What Is it?
3.
All of these theories can be implemented into advertising
easily as advertising is a media that has a large target
audience. For example:
Diversion – An advert can allow the consumer to escape
from everyday problems. E.g. The Duck Freederm advert.
Personal Relationships – The advert can be used for
emotional and other interaction. E.g. The Old Spice
Advert
Personal Identity – An ad could end up with the
consumer finding themselves reflected in texts, learning
behavior and value. E.g. The Road Safety Advert.
Surveillance – An advert can also provide information
which could be useful for living. E.g. The NSPCC Advert.
Uses And Gratifications In Advertising
4.
Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs
This theory suggests the
importance of human
needs, in order. This
could be used in
advertising to categorize
an advert into a specific
tier of needs. Many
advertisers could try and
fit their advert into a tier
that everyone either
wants or needs, maybe
even in all the tiers, to
appeal to a larger
audience therefore
leading to larger profits.
